Door latch



C. QLSON DOOR LATCH Feb. 239 1943.

2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb. l2, 1940 .anni

C. QLSQN DOOR LATCH Feb. 23, 1943.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l2, 1940 Patented heb. 23, 1943 DOOR LATCHCarl Olson,

Minneapolis, Minn.,

assignor to Wright Products, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a. corporation ofMinnesota Application February 12, 1940, Serial No. 318,545

11 Claims. (Cl. 292-126) My invention relates generally to improvementsin door latches particularly suitable for use upon screen and stormdoors, but useful as well on other forms of closures.

The invention has particular reference to door latches of that type inwhich a curved handle is pivoted to the door with portions extended bothinwardly and outwardly of the door. The latching mechanism is such thata push on the handle from the inside of the door will unlatch and swingthe door outwardly, while a pull on the handle from the outside willboth unlatch and open the door. The single action of either pushing orpulling upon the handle to move the door in normal manner will thusserve also to unlatch the door without other manipulation of the handle.

All door latches of this kind with which I am familiar have employed ahook or dog upon the inner handle portion to engage a keeper in the doorframe, and as a result the handle has been required to oscillate whenclosing the door to enable the parts to lock. FurthermoreA such anarrangement requires that the inner handle portion curve near the doorframe, resulting in an undesirable handle form. My invention has,therefore, as its primary object the provision of a door latch in whichthe handle carries a movable latch member, spring mounted by the samespring that returns the handle to normal position after each operation,and which member may move independently of the handle as it meets andengages the keeper as the door is closed. In opening the door, however,this latch member moves with the handle to clear the keeper. Thisconstruction obviates the necessity of the handle swinging when closingthe door and allows the handle to stand further away from the door framein position for more convenient manipulation.

Another object is to provide a door latch in which the latching member,by virtue of the pivot position of the handle, stands at an angle whichwill prevent it working out of the keeper when a push or pull is exertedon the door itself.

A further object is to provide a door latch of this kind in which thehandle, instead of being cast in one piece as is customary, is made intwo adjustably connected sections, each of which is formed up from sheetmaterial, thus considerably reducing the cost of manufacturing thehandle.

Another and important object of my invention is to provide a door latchincluding as its main supporting and mounting element a bracket memberwhich may be conveniently fastened to the door and which is adjustableto iit doors of conventional thicknesses.

A further object is to provide a door latch 0i' this kind carrying atits inner side a safety lock member which is mounted in an extremelyeffective manner and which may be swung into position to engage both thehandle and the latch member to prevent either or both from beingmanipulated from outside the door to clear the keeper.

These and other more detailed and specic objects will be disclosed inthe course of the following specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in Which- Fig. 1 is a cross section through adoor and fragments of the adjacent door frame, showing my improved latchin place and indicating, in dotted lines, the handle movement to unlatchthe door.

Fig. 2 is a similar view, with handle parts in section, showing the doorin act of closing and indicating the independent action of the latchmember, this view also showing a modified arrangement of the latchspring.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through the handle, along the line 3-3 in Fig.1.

Fig. 4 is a cross section through meeting ends of the handle sections,showing also a cross section through the latch member and a portion ofthe spring associated therewith. v

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the latch removed from the door.

Fig. 6 is a composite perspective view of the various main parts of thelatch in separated form.

Referring more particularly and by reference characters to the drawings,A represents generally my improved latch mounted upon a door B hinged atC to one side D of the door frame to swing toward and away from theopposite side E of the frame. This door may of course be of any wellknown type or kind. A keeper F is mounted and recessed in the frame E tobe engaged by the latch for holdinhg the door closed.

The latch itself comprises a mounting member, bracket, or channel l0 ofsubstantially U-shaped form having spaced sides il and I2 to iit overinner and outer faces oi the door B adjacent its free edge, and a bightI3 to span said free edge, the sides having openings Il to pass screwsl5 for mounting the latch on the door. .The door edge is cut out asindicatedat I6, to afford working space within member l0 and the sides lI-l2 are of course of such size as to wholly conceal this opening.

The sides of the member I0 have openings F so that a continuation ofeither the pushing or pulling force may open the door. The spring 35 or35a of course returns the handle to normal position when released, saidreturn movement being limited by engagement of the handle with themargin of opening I 1. As the door closes the nose apertured to receivea pivot pin or screw 23 which extends plvotally through the handleto'mount the same for oscillating movement with respect to the door andframe.

'I'he handle I3 is made in two sections having the curved portionsconstituting the aforesaid inner and outer handle levers 23 and 2| andrelatively straight meeting end portions or shanks 2 4 and 25. Theseparts are formed up from sheet material and the portions 2li and 2| arerolled to a hollow shape with the seams 26 turned toward the door, whilethe shank portions 24 and 25 are channeled or U'shaped in cross section.In assembly the shanks 24 and 25 are telescoplcally related and areretained in relative engagement by openings 21 and 28 in theirrespective ends which, when brought into registry, receive the pivot pin23. The shank 24, which is longer, has spaced pairs of the openings 21so that the effective length of the medial portion of the handle may be33 of the latch member will cam over the keeper F until the hook 32springs back to latching position. 'I'his movement of the latch membercauses no corresponding swinging movement of the handle since the latchis freely mounted with respect to the handle and as a result there is noneed, as when closing the door from the outside, to pull upon the handlewhile pushing to close the door. Also as will be noted, the inner handlelever 23 may stand further clear of the frame E than is varied byselective registry of these openings with the pin, for a purpose whichwill hereinafter appear. The outer shank 25 carries lugs 23 which areturned inwardly over the inner shank 24 to prevent the two sections ofthe handle from jackknifing about the pin 23.

A latch member is mounted within the handle section or lever 20 with oneend pivoted, as by either of spaced openings 3i, upon the pin 23. I'heinner, free end of this latch member has a hook 32 adapted to engage thekeeper F and has a nose or cam face 33 to slide over the outer 'edge ofthe keeper as the door closes. In this action the latch memberoscillates about its pivot connection to the pin 23. The handle has anelongated slot 34 to clear this hooked end of the latch /member, and themovement of the latch toward the keeper F is limited by engagement .withan outer margin oi.' this slot.

A wire spring 35 is provided and has spaced torsional coils 36 whichmayV be tted into the telescoped sl'ianks 24-25 of the handle atopposite sides of the latch member 33. The bight end 31 of 'the springthen straddles the latch member, while the free legs 33 hook into andbear upon suitable apertured ear 33 which is punched inwardly from thebracket side l I as the opening I1 is formed. The spring is thus somounted that it yieldably resists the movement of the latch member 30away from the keeper F and also resists swinging movement of the handlesuch as would move the latch member in this same direction.

In lieu of this torsional spring 35 I may employ an expansion coilspring 35a which, as shown in Fig. 2, is braced between the latch 33 anda small bracket 4l. Both the latch and bracket have small bosses toretain the spring in position to resist unlocking movement of. both thelatch and the handle, and the bracket may be retained in place byhooking its end 43 around the pivot pin 23 as shown.

- In operation it will be readily evident that a push on the innerhandle lever 20, or a pull on the outer handle lever 2|, will oscillatethe handle on the pivot 23 swinging the hook 32 of the the case when thehandle itself engages the keeper.

Attention is directed to the fact that the pivot pin 23, about whichboth the handle I3 and latch member 33 oscillate, is located as far aspossible toward the outer or free edge of the door spanned by theportion I3 of the latch. As a result of this condition the latch memberstands normally in a cocked-back or oblique angle relative to thearcuate path through which the door moves so that the pull upon thelatch, should it be attempted to open the door without unlatching it,will be directed against the locking face of the latch hook 32 in suchmanner as to cause the hook to work inward on the keeper. It is thusmanifestly impossible for the latch to be worked clear of the keeper bya push or pull on the door itself, and the spring tension need not bedepended upon to maintain the latching condition, as would be the casewere the pivot 23 located further to the right (in Figs. 1 and 2) awayfrom the free edge of the door. This is an important feature of myinvention.

Another important feature of my invention is the adjustment of the latchto doors of various thicknesses. To accomplish this I make the mountingmember Il in two complementary sections or pieces referred to in Fig. 6as Ila and Illb, with bight or base portions overlapping to form thebight I3 across the vertical free edge of the door. The outer portiondesignated at I3a has spaced pairs of slots 43 while the inner portionhas a pair of lugs or teeth 4I punched lnward. These lugs may be engagedin either pair of the slots 4I to retain the sides of the mountingmember in either of two differently spaced positions. As theseadjustments are made the pin 23 is inserted through the proper openings21 and 3l in the handle and latch member in order to accommodate thebight portion of the handle to the thickness or spacing between thesides of the mounting member and maintain the proper rela.- tiveposition of the parts. The latch is shown as mounted on a thick door inFig. 1 and as reduced or adjusted to a thinner door in Fig. 2 to clearlybring out this feature. 'I'he bight portion I3a is inset as shown tobring the lappedv portions into line in their assembled relation.

A safety lock member 42 is pivotally mounted on the inner side Il of thelatch and normally A stands clear of the opening I1 to permit freeoperation of the handle. However, when this member is rotated throughone hundred eighty degrees (1809) its longer end will contact the handleand the latch member 33 thus preven g either from swinging to clear thelatch from the keeper F as will be understood. The latch member ispivotauy mounted by a houow rivet u through latch member out ofengagement with the keeper the bracket side I I and has a boss 44 formedoutward on its longer end as an aid in manipulating it to locking andunlocking positions. A spring washer 50 and points or detents 45 punchedout from the side Il engage the member to aid in holding it in adjustedpositions and prevent it from contacting and scratching the adjacentface of the side l l.

It is understood that suitable modications may be made in the structureas disclosed, provided such modiiications come within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated anddescribed my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect byLetters Patent is:

l. In a door latch, a latch handle pivotally mounted through the door,the said handle being formed from sheet material in inner and outersections and curved to provide inner and outer handle levers, shankportions of substantially U- shaped cross section extended from the saidhandle levers and telescopically` arranged, and lugs turned from oneshank over edges of the other to retain the shanks in alignment.

2. A latch for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprising a handleextending through the door for actuation at either side and pivotallymounted for movement in a horizontal plane at an inner end toward andaway from the door frame, and a latch member pivotally connected to thehandle for movement therewith away from the frame in unlatching the doorand for movement independently of the handle in latching the door, thatportion of the handle supporting the latch member being of channelformation with the latch member housed within said channel formation andwith the frame-engaging portion of the latch member projecting laterallyof the handle.

3. Latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprising apivoted latch handle extending through the door for manipulation fromeither side thereof and for movement at its inner portion toward andaway from the frame in a horizontal plane, a latch member pivotallymounted on the handle and having a hook adapted to engage a keeper onthe frame, the said latch member being movable with the handle to clearthe keeper and being movable independently of the handle to return tolatching engagement with the keeper, that portion of the handlesupporting the latch member being of channel formation with the'latchmember housed within said channel formation and with the frame-engagingportion of the latch member projecting laterally of the handle.

4. Latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprising alatch handle extending entirely through the door for movement at one endportion about a vertical pivot toward and away from the frame, a latchmember pivotally mounted on the handle for independent movement aboutthe pivot axis of said handle, and having a hook adapted to engage akeeper on the frame, the said latch member being movable with the handleto clear the keeper and being movable independently of the handle toreturn to latching engagement with the keeper, that portion of thehandle supporting the latch member being of channel formation with thelatch member housed within said channel formation and with theframe-engaging portion of the latch member projecting laterally of thehandle.

5. Latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprising alatch handle extending through the door and pivoted for movement at itsinner portion toward and away from the frame about a vertical axis, alatch member pivotally mounted on the handle for movement about thepivot axis of said handle, and having a hook adapted for latchingengagement with the frame, the said latch member being movable with thehandle to clear the keeper and being movable independently of the handleto return to latching engagement with the keeper, and a spring arrangedfor yieldably resisting movement of both the handle and latch member,that portion of the handle supporting the latch member being rof channelformation with the latch member housed within said channel formation andwith the frame-engaging portion of the latch member projecting laterallyof the handle.

6. A latch for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprising a handleoperable from either side of the door and pivotally mounted in the doorfor horizontal movement at an inner end toward and away from the doorframe, and a latch member pivotally connected to the handle for movementtherewith away from the frame in unlatching the door and for movementindependently of the handle in latching the door, and a safety lock onthe inside of the door movable to engage both the handle and latchmember to prevent either from moving away from the frame, that portionof the handle supporting the latch member being of channel formationwith the latch member housed within said channel formation and with theframe-engaging portion of the latch member projecting laterally of thehandle.

7. A latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprisinga generally U- shaped latch handle pivotally supported through the doorfor movement at one point toward and away from the frame and in a planeperpendicular to the adjacent edge of the door, a latch member pivotallymounted on the handle for movement about the pivot axis of the handleand extending substantially parallel with the base portion of the handlefor latching engagement with the frame, that portion of the handlesupporting the latch member being of channel formation with the latchmember housed within said channel formation and with the frame-engagingportion of the latch member projecting laterally of the handle.

8. A latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprisinga handle pivotally supported through the door and having a recessedinner end portion movable about the pivot toward and away from theframe, and a` latch member pivotally connected to the handle formovement about the pvot axis of the handle, the said latch member beingdisposed within the recessed portion of the handle and movable towardand away from latching engagement with the frame.

9. A latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame, comprisinga handle extending through the door and pivotally supported in the doorand having an inner end portion movable about the pivot toward and awayfrom the frame, the said inner end portion of thehandle having a recessextending lengthwise, thereof and having an opening in the side adjacentthe frame, and, a latch member` movably mounted in the recess and havinga hook portion extending through the said opening for latchingengagement with the frame.

10. A latch mechanism for a door swingably mounted in a frame,comprising a pivoted handle extending throughthe door for manipulationat either side thereof and having an inner end portion movable about thepivot toward and away from the frame, the said inner end portion of thehandle having a recess extending lengthwise and having an opening in theside adjacent the frame, a latch member mounted in the said recess andhaving a hook portion extending through the said opening for latchingengagement with the frame, and the said latch member being pivotallysupported for independent swinging movement about the pvot axis of thehandle.

11. A door fastening means comprising a supporting frame, a handlepivotally supported there- I by, said handle being formed with anopening out- Ulv

